Insurance fraud involving advocates comes to light

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 16

The family members of accident victims in Kaithal would have got insurance money, but for an investigator hired by an insurance company.

Insurance frauds have long been heard about but a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court brings to fore how insurance frauds are played by “unscrupulous litigants in collusion with their counsels”.

A Maruti car was shown as having met with an accident and was declared “untraced” by the police for claiming insurance money. Both the driver and the owner of the car were advocates by profession.

The scheme has its genesis in an accident, which took place on October 10, 1998. Motorcyclist Virender Singh was killed while Dharamvir Singh, who was injured, survived. The police after investigation filed an un-traced report as the injured could not disclose the make, the type or the registration number of the car involved. But that was not the end of the story. The widow and minor children of deceased Virender Singh as well as injured Dharamvir filled two claim petitions. It was claimed that the accident took place with a Maruti car driven by Pawan Kumar, who “later became an advocate”.

Parveen Kumar was impleaded as the owner of the car and Oriental Insurance Company as the car’s insurer. Taking up the matter, Justice Anil Kshetarpal observed Parveen Kumar, too, was an advocate in Kaithal.

A written statement was filed on behalf of the driver and the owner, admitting the accident. Although, the insurance company denied the involvement of a Maruti car in the accident, an award was passed against it. Virender Singh’s legal heirs were awarded Rs 5.1 lakh for his death, while a compensation of Rs 80,000 was awarded to Dharamvir Singh, who was injured in the accident.

Grover Associates, deputed by the insurance company, submitted a report after thorough investigation that the award has been obtained by the claimants, the owner and the driver of the Maruti car, in collusion with each other and a fraud has been played on the Accident Claims Tribunal.

Deepak Grover produced a written statement by advocate Parveen Kumar Sardana stating that his car never met with an accident that day and Pawan Kumar was never employed as a driver.

The court ruled the award was a result of fraud, misrepresentation and collusion before recalling it. Justice Kshetarpal refused to interfere and said the “fountain of justice was sought to be polluted” and “fraud and justice never dwelled together.”

Justice Kshetarpal added fraud was apparent on the face of the file. Once the unimpeachable evidence surfaced that the claimants in collusion with the car’s driver and the owner played a fraud with the court and the insurance company, the Accident Claims Tribunal was justified in recalling/setting aside the order.

Unscrupulous litigants 

• A Maruti car was shown as having met with an accident and was declared “untraced” by the police for claiming insurance money. A person had died in the accident while one was injured.
• The widow and minor children of the deceased as well as the injured filled two claim petitions and were awarded a compensation of Rs 5.1 lakh and Rs 80,000, respectively.
• Grover Associates, deputed by the insurance company, stated in its a report that the award has been obtained by the claimants, the owner and the driver of the Maruti car, in collusion with each other and a fraud has been played on the Accident Claims Tribunal.
• Both the driver and the owner of the car were advocates.

.